This invention relates to a magnetic medium, such as a thin film magnetic recording medium, and the method of manufacturing the medium. The invention has particular applicability to a magnetic recording medium exhibiting low noise, high coercivity and suitable for high-density longitudinal and perpendicular recording.
The requirements for high areal density impose increasingly greater requirements on magnetic recording media in terms of coercivity, remanent squareness, low medium noise and narrow track recording performance. It is extremely difficult to produce a magnetic recording medium satisfying such demanding requirements, particularly a high-density magnetic rigid disk medium for longitudinal and perpendicular recording. The magnetic anisotropy of longitudinal and perpendicular recording media makes the easily magnetized direction of the media located in the film plane and perpendicular to the film plane, respectively. The remanent magnetic moment of the magnetic media after magnetic recording or writing of longitudinal and perpendicular media is located in the film plane and perpendicular to the film plane, respectively.
The linear recording density can be increased by increasing the coercivity of the magnetic recording medium. However, this objective can only be accomplished by decreasing the medium noise, as by maintaining very fine magnetically noncoupled grains. Medium noise is a dominant factor restricting increased recording density of high-density magnetic hard disk drives. Medium noise in thin films is attributed primarily to large grain size and intergranular exchange coupling. Therefore, in order to increase linear density, medium noise must be minimized by suitable microstructure control.
A substrate material conventionally employed in producing magnetic recording rigid disks comprises an aluminum-magnesium (Alxe2x80x94Mg) alloy. Such Alxe2x80x94Mg alloys are typically electrolessly plated with a layer of NiP at a thickness of about 15 microns to increase the hardness of the substrates, thereby providing a suitable surface for polishing to provide the requisite surface roughness or texture.
Other substrate materials have been employed, such as glass, e.g., an amorphous glass, glass-ceramic material which comprise a mixture of amorphous and crystalline materials, and ceramic materials. Glass-ceramic materials do not normally exhibit a crystalline surface. Glasses and glass-ceramics generally exhibit high resistance to shocks. The use of glass-based materials, such as glass-ceramic materials, is disclosed by Hoover et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,273,834.
A conventional longitudinal recording disk medium is depicted in FIG. 1 and typically comprises a non-magnetic substrate 10 having sequentially deposited on each side thereof an underlayer 11, 11xe2x80x2, such as chromium (Cr) or Cr-alloy, a magnetic layer 12, 12xe2x80x2, typically comprising a cobalt (Co)-base alloy, and a protective overcoat 13, 13xe2x80x2, typically containing carbon. Conventional practices also comprise bonding a lubricant topcoat (not shown) to the protective overcoat. Underlayer 11, 11xe2x80x2, magnetic layer 12, 12xe2x80x2, and protective overcoat 13, 13xe2x80x2, are typically deposited by sputtering techniques. The Co-base alloy magnetic layer deposited by conventional techniques normally comprises polycrystallites epitaxially grown on the polycrystal Cr or Cr-alloy underlayer. A conventional perpendicular recording disk medium is similar to the longitudinal recording medium depicted in FIG. 1, but does not comprise Cr-containing underlayers.
Conventional methods for manufacturing longitudinal magnetic recording medium with a glass or glass-ceramic substrate comprise applying a seed layer between the substrate and underlayer. A seed layer seeds the nucleation of a particular crystallographic texture of the underlayer.
Longitudinal magnetic recording media with glass or glass-ceramic substrates are commercially available from different manufacturers with different seed layer materials to reduce the effect of high thermal emissivity of such glass and glass-ceramic substrates, and to influence the crystallographic orientation of subsequently deposited underlayers and magnetic layers. Pre-coat on glass substrates also facilitates laser texturing and mechanical texturing process. Such conventional seed layer materials also include nickel-phosphorous (Nixe2x80x94P) which is typically sputter deposited on the surface of the glass-ceramic substrate at a thickness of 500 xc3x85. Sputtered NiP films on glass or glass-ceramic substrates were reported in the literature for the control of crystallographic orientation of the longitudinal magnetic media and the enhancement of coercivity (for example, Hsiao-chu Tsai et al., xe2x80x9cThe Effects of Ni3P-sublayer on the Properties of CoNiCr/Cr Media Using Different Substrates,xe2x80x9d IEEE Trans. on Magn., Vol. 28, p. 3093, 1992).
Conventional longitudinal magnetic recording media comprising a glass or glass-ceramic substrate having NiP sputtered thereon also comprise, sequentially deposited thereon, a Cr or Cr-alloy underlayer at an appropriate thickness, e.g., about 550 xc3x85, a magnetic layer such as Coxe2x80x94Cr-platinum (Pt)-tantalum (Ta) at an appropriate thickness, e.g., 200 xc3x85, and a protective carbon overcoat at an appropriate thickness, e.g., about 75 xc3x85. Conventional Cr-alloy underlayers comprise vanadium (V), titanium (Ti), tungsten (W) or molybdenum (Mo). Other conventional magnetic layers are CoCrTa, CoCrPtB, CoCrPt, CoCrPtTaNb and CoNiCr.
The seed layer, underlayer, and magnetic layer are conventionally sequentially sputter deposited on the glass or glass-ceramic substrate in an inert gas atmosphere, such as an atmosphere of pure argon. A conventional carbon overcoat is typically deposited in argon with nitrogen, hydrogen or ethylene. Conventional lubricant topcoats are typically about 20 xc3x85 thick.
Longitudinal magnetic films exhibiting a bicrystal cluster microstructure are expected to exhibit high coercivity, low noise and high remanent squareness. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,830,584, a magnetic medium was disclosed comprising a glass or glass-ceramic substrate and a magnetic layer exhibiting a bicrystal cluster microstructure. The formation of a bicrystal cluster microstructure is induced by oxidizing the surface of a seed layer so that the underlayer subsequently deposited thereon exhibits a (200) crystallographic orientation which, in turn, induces a bicrystal microstructure in a magnetic alloy deposited and epitaxially grown on the underlayer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,733,370 discloses a method of manufacturing a magnetic recording medium comprising a glass or glass-ceramic substrate and a magnetic layer exhibiting a bicrystal cluster microstructure. The disclosed method comprises sputter depositing a NiP seed layer on a glass or glass-ceramic substrate and subsequently oxidizing the deposited NiP seed layer. The oxidized upper seed layer surface induces the subsequently deposited underlayer to exhibit a (200) crystallographic orientation which, in turn, induces the magnetic alloy layer deposited and epitaxially grown on the underlayer to exhibit a bicrystal cluster microstructure. The magnetic recording media disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,733,370 and 5,830,584 exhibit high coercivity, low magnetic remanence (Mr)xc3x97thickness (t) and low noise, thereby rendering them particularly suitable for longitudinal recording.
In co-pending application Ser. No. 09/152,324, the adhesion between a seed layer, particularly a NiP seed layer, and a non-conventional substrate, was improved by providing an adhesion enhancement layer, such as Cr or a Cr alloy, between the substrate and the seed layer, with an additional benefit in recording performance obtained by surface oxidizing the seed layer.
Assignee""s pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/186,074, entitled xe2x80x9cMagnetic thin film medium comprising amorphous sealing layers for reduced lithium migration,xe2x80x9d discloses a method which can be used for reducing corrosion of the magnetic recording medium on glass by applying NiP layer on the substrate.
The entire disclosures of co-pending applications Ser. Nos. 09/186,074 and Ser. No. 09/152,324 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,733,370 and 5,830,584, are incorporated by reference herein.
Some glasses and glass-ceramic materials have lithium (Li) and sodium (Na) transitional elements to lower the glass transition temperature of the material. Lowering the glass transition temperature makes forming of the glass products easier. A large amount of Li, e.g., about 0.5 to about 32 wt. % of Li2O is incorporated into SiO2 matrix in ionic form and bonds in an ionic and secondary fashion in the SiO2 networks. The nature of the bonding enables leaching of the Li ions from the glass matrix. A typical magnetic recording medium comprises a CoCr alloy film as a recording layer. The media noise is mainly due to the exchange coupling between the CoCr alloy grains. In order to enhance the Cr segregation into CoCr alloy grain boundary to reduce the intergranular exchange coupling, high temperature sputtering is widely used in the magnetic rigid disc manufacturing industries. The typical substrate temperature during sputtering is about 200xc2x0 C. to about 250xc2x0 C. It typically takes several minutes to sputter deposit the plurality of films in a pass-by in-line sputtering system. Because the melting point of pure Li is 181xc2x0 C., the driving force for Li diffusion in the process with so high temperature for so long a time is very large.
The media used in perpendicular magnetic recording do not usually comprise Cr alloy underlayers. Even for the media used in longitudinal magnetic recording, the Cr alloy underlayers can not seal the Li or prevent leaching.
It is well known that sputtered Cr and Cr alloy underlayers of thin film rigid discs exhibit an aggregate of faceted conical columns (Agarwal, S., xe2x80x9cStructure and Morphology of RF Sputtered Carbon Overlayer Films,xe2x80x9d IEEE Trans., Magn., MAG-21, P. 1527, 1985.) The crystalline grain boundaries of the Cr and Cr alloy films are high diffusion-rate paths. Therefore, the longitudinal magnetic recording rigid discs with Cr or Cr alloy underlayers directly deposited on Li-containing glass or glass-ceramic substrates and the perpendicular recording discs on glass or glass-ceramic substrates often suffer from Li corrosion problems. The Li leaching from the substrates further promotes Co leaching from the magnetic layer of the rigid magnetic discs, and makes the corrosion problems even worse. Corrosion products will be picked up by the recording head causing smearing on the recording head and disc surface, resulting in increased stiction and eventual drive failure.
There exists a need for technology enabling the use of glass and glass-ceramic substrates containing large Li in magnetic recording media while preventing Li migration from the substrate.
During the course of the present invention, it was found that amorphous NiP seed layer is easy to transfer to crystalline structure and destroy tribological and magnetic performances of magnetic recording medium. The adhesion between NiP film and glass substrates is not good also. Therefore, applicants recognized that there is a need to find sealing layers, which enhance magnetic recording performances, reduce lithium migration, and have good adhesion on glass and glass-ceramic substrates.
The present invention is a magnetic recording medium comprising a glass substrate containing a large amount of Li which does not significantly migrate to the surface of the recording medium.
Another advantage of the present invention is a method of manufacturing a magnetic recording medium comprising a glass or glass-ceramic substrate containing a large amount of Li which does not significantly migrate to the surface of the medium.
Additional advantages and other features of the present invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from the practice of the present invention. The advantages of the present invention may be realized and obtained as particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
According to the present invention, the foregoing and other advantages are achieved in part by a magnetic recording medium comprising longitudinal or perpendicular magnetic recording medium comprising a substrate comprising Li, a sealing layer comprising NiNb, preferably amorphous NiNb, and a magnetic layer, wherein the sealing layer substantially prevents the migration of Li from the substrate.
Another embodiment of this invention is a longitudinal or perpendicular magnetic recording medium comprising a substrate comprising Li, a sealing means for substantially preventing the migration of Li from the substrate, and a magnetic layer. Embodiments of the sealing means include a sputter deposited layer of a sealing material such as NiNb, preferably amorphous NiNb, that substantially prevents the migration of Li from the substrate, which may be made of glass or glass-ceramic materials.
Another aspect of the present invention is a method comprising sputter depositing a sealing layer comprising NiNb, preferably amorphous NiNb, on substrate comprising Li and sputter depositing a magnetic layer on the sealing layer, wherein the sealing layer substantially prevents migration of Li from the substrate.
Embodiments include sputter depositing an NiNb, preferably amorphous NiNb, sealing layer from a target containing at least 12 wt. % of Nb, preferably at least 37 wt. % of Nb, wherein the NiNb, preferably amorphous NiNb, sealing layer optionally comprises boron (B), tungsten (W), tantalum (Ta), Zirconium (Zr) and phosphorus (P), and oxidizing the surface of the NiNb, preferably amorphous NiNb, sealing layer for improved performance.